Obermayer German Jewish History Awards
Berlin Parliament House
January 27, 2002
by Arthur S. Obermayer

I should like to start by thanking the Berlin Parliament and both its past President, Mr. Fuehrer, and its current president, Mr. Momper for their role in hosting this event, and especially  Hendrik Kuebler for the time and personal commitment he has devoted  to this activity.  Additionally, I want to recognize the other jury members who are here:  Ernest Kallmann from Paris, and Sara Nachama from Berlin, who initiated the discussions leading to this new venue for the award ceremony.  Some of the award nominators are also here for this special occasion:  Peter and Carol-Anne Wyant, who have come all the way from the province of Saskatchewan, Canada and Angelika Ellman-Krueger of Berlin.  Finally, my family, who've come from various parts of the United States:  my wife Judith from Boston, my son Henry from San Francisco, and my other son Joel from Washington, DC. 

I wish I could address you in German, but my language skills are limited.  Although all four of my grandparents were born in Germany in the 19th century, the ability to speak in German has been lost by my generation.  However, I retain a lot of my German heritage.  For example, the gold ring on my finger is inscribed, "Gut schutze dich".  It was given to me by my father at the time of my bar mitzvah.  My father had received a similar ring from his father, and all of my children have received them from me.  I moved it from one hand to the other at the time of my marriage.  There are many other connections I have had to my German Jewish heritage which have bridged the gap between the 19th and the 21st centuries, a gap which included the most horrendous and atrocious activities of the Third Reich. 

I feel honored and thrilled to be here today for such an important occasion.  This provides me an opportunity to represent Jews throughout the world in saying thank you to today's recipients for all you have done and to demonstrate our appreciation through these awards.  The idea for these awards arose almost five years ago during a trip I took through your country to discover my roots.  In every community visited, there were marvelous, caring individuals who had devoted significant parts of their lives to uncovering and preserving their local Jewish history.   [For more information, see The German Conscience: Keeping Alive the Jewish Memory.]

In Hardheim, I was given a diskette with the names and complete information about over 90 of my relatives who lived there in the 19th century and was shown some of their houses.  In Archshofen, I obtained a 200-page book on the history of the Jews of that community.  That village of less than 1,000 people never had more than 130 Jews, and in 1930, only 28 remained.  In Fuerth, I visited the old Jewish cemetery where my ancestors were buried with the woman who had reconstructed it.  I had been there in 1984 and found all of the tombstones piled on top of each other nowhere near the gravesites.  Through photos, plot plans, and genealogical charts, she was able to replace the tombstones over the appropriate gravesites.  In Augsburg, I was given a copy of the marriage contract of my great grandparents and was shown the houses where they and their parents had lived over 200 years ago.  At a later time in Creglingen, Claudia Heuwinkel, who is in the audience today, was able to identify where my ancestors lived 11 generations ago (that is almost 400 years back) by searching through tax records, property transfers, and wills.  We now have converted the house at that location into a Jewish museum. 

When I returned to the United States after that genealogical trip, I mentioned my experience to many other Jews of German descent.  Almost all of us had had similar experiences throughout your country.  Furthermore, no one would accept money for any specific work that we would request; their position was that Jews had already paid too much.  I felt that the tremendous amount of commitment and dedication of these individuals deserved appropriate recognition.  There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people who have committed themselves to this type of effort.  The award winners today are just the tip of the iceberg.  It was difficult for the jury to make a selection, but we feel that we have chosen the most outstanding from among many worthy nominees. 

We hope that the awardees who are here today will not only be honored and acknowledged by those present in this great hall, but also by the residents in their own communities, by the German public, and by people living in other countries where there is no awareness that this kind of voluntary effort is going on throughout Germany.  Each awardee will receive a framed certificate and a description of their accomplishments, together with an honorarium intended to be used to expand on the remarkable work they are already doing. 

The awardees today are all from different states:  Guenter Boll from Baden Wuerttemberg; Olaf Ditzel from Thuringia, Monica Kingreen from Hessen, Josef Motschmann from Bavaria, and Heinrich Schreiner from Rheinland-Pfalz, and we are also honoring Gisela Bunge from Sachsen-Anhalt.  The broad geographical distribution is just by chance, but it is a further indication that this kind of outstanding work is being done throughout this country.

The award citation says that these awards are "given in appreciation from Jews throughout the world for connecting the past with the present, communicating with today's Jews, and committing to help heal the world".  Connecting the past with the present and communicating with today's Jews are important components of these awards.  It is time to look beyond memorializing Jews as victims to developing a strong relationship with Jews, not only as survivors, but also as normal people living in various parts of the world.  The work of the awardees is of importance to Jews everywhere.  It is nurturing the roots from which mighty trees are growing.  It is helping to bridge the gap and improve the interaction between Germans and Jews everywhere.  Part of our task is to demonstrate beyond question to the rest of the world that most Germans have positive, democratic values, have committed themselves to healing the world, and regret their horrible past as much as Jews do.  It is not possible to erase the past, but it is possible to build on the positive parts of the past to create a bright future of full reconciliation between Germans and Jews everywhere. 

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